Border Security and Asylum

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 3:45 pm ar 22 Gorffennaf 2024.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Yvette Cooper Yvette Cooper The Secretary of State for the Home Department 3:45, 22 Gorffennaf 2024

I welcome my hon. Friend to his place. There is a real challenge from the chaotic way the asylum system has been run, which has led to the last-minute procurement of hotels and has ended up being extremely costly. Everybody loses out from spending billions of pounds on this system, but also from local authorities often not having time to work with communities or accommodation providers to ensure that things are managed in the right way. Because asylum decisions stopped being taken, there will now be some challenges in getting the system working again, which means that bringing down the backlog will take longer than we initially anticipated. But we are determined to do this; it is the only way to get back to having a functional system that everybody across the country should be able to support.